Guide: How to play Minecraft PE over Bluetooth (Android)

Note: You can’t connect to an Android device with an iOS device. So please don’t ask.

Let’s say you and your friends want to play together on Minecraft: Pocket Edition, but you’re in the car or in a place with no WiFi connection. If you and your friends are using Android devices (phones and tablets), you can make your own network with Bluetooth. Here’s how to do it:

Instructions for the host:

If you have a phone plan with data and you don’t want you or your friends to use up your data, turn off data or put your phone into Airplane Mode.

On the device that will be hosting the Minecraft PE game, go to the Settings application and switch on Bluetooth.

Go back to the main Settings, tap ‘Bluetooth’, and tap your device’s name at the top to make your device visible to everyone around you.

Finally, open Minecraft PE and start up a world. Make sure Local Multiplayer is on in the Minecraft settings!

Instructions for players:

Go to the Settings application, tap ‘Bluetooth’, and tap ‘Search for Devices’.

When you see your friend’s device, tap it. Both players should get an alert asking to pair with eachother’s device. Tap pair.

The player should be able to join the host’s world.

Troubleshooting

Only the host (the one who created the Bluetooth tether) can host the world. If someone else wants to host their world, they have to start tethering from their device.

If a player’s device doesn’t detect the host’s Minecraft world on the network, the player needs to go to Settings > Bluetooth > Tap on the host’s device > Make sure “Internet Access” is checked.

Bluetooth connections are not as strong as a WiFi connection, and the more players you have the more lag will be visible. Try having all devices on the network turn off WiFi to get a better connection.

If the host can’t turn on Bluetooth tethering or can’t see an option for it, try installing this app.